Meaning & use
Milking Shorthorn
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Meaning
nouncountable
A medium-sized breed of cattle kept for its milk, usually red, white or roan, and developed from the beef-type Shorthorn.
Grammar: Capitalized as a breed name; used for one animal or for the breed: the Milking Shorthorn.
Patterns
- a herd of Milking Shorthorns
- a Milking Shorthorn cow
The farm keeps a small herd of Milking Shorthorns for its cheese.
A Milking Shorthorn cow can produce milk well on grass alone.
Breeders praise the Milking Shorthorn for its calm nature and long working life.
Word forms
| plural | Milking Shorthorns |
|---|
Common combinations
- Milking Shorthorn herd
- Their Milking Shorthorn herd grazes beside the river.
- Milking Shorthorn cow
- Each Milking Shorthorn cow is milked twice a day.
- Milking Shorthorn breeder
- The Milking Shorthorn breeder showed three heifers at the fair.
- Milking Shorthorn milk
- Milking Shorthorn milk has a good balance of fat and protein.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dairy Shorthorn
- Dairy Shorthorn is the older and mainly British name for the same milk-focused type, while Milking Shorthorn is the usual American name.
- dual-purpose cattle
- Dual-purpose is a wider description for cattle kept for both milk and meat, and it fits some Shorthorns but is not a breed name.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: Milking Shorthorn or Beef Shorthorn?
Milking Shorthorn vs Beef Shorthorn
Beef Shorthorns are the same ancestral breed selected for meat, with a stockier build, while Milking Shorthorns are selected for milk.
Practice
A farmer who mainly wants milk, not meat, would most likely choose a ___.
Choose one answer.
The Milking Shorthorn is bred for milk production. The other options are beef animals, so they fit a meat producer.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Milking Shorthorn”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.